Printing apparatus and control method thereof

ABSTRACT

A printing apparatus includes at least a tank configured to hold a first printing material at a first position and a tank configured to hold a second printing material at a second position different from the first position. A light emitting control unit controls light emitting states of a plurality of light emitters. If an amount of the printing material in the first tank is less than a predetermined amount, and an amount of the printing material in the second tank is greater than a predetermined amount, the light emitting control unit transits a state of a first light emitter from a state indicating that the amount of the printing material is greater than the predetermined amount to a state indicating that the amount of the printing material is less than the predetermined amount, and maintains a state of a second light emitter.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a controlmethod thereof.

Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, there exists an inkjet printing apparatus thatdischarges ink from a printhead and performs printing on a printingmedium. In a case of such a printing apparatus, if a user is presentnear the printing apparatus, he/she can confirm that the printingapparatus is printing based on the driving sound of the printhead or thestate of conveyance of a printing medium. Recently, however, a settingor print start instruction can be input from a portable terminal such asa smartphone. The user may be present within a range where the printingapparatus can visually be recognized but not near the printingapparatus. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-67454 discloses atechnique of making it possible to clearly visibly recognize that aprinting apparatus is printing by providing a plurality of LEDs fordisplaying a recording state on an outer housing that covers a mechanismportion including a printhead and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a printingapparatus including at least a tank configured to hold a first printingmaterial at a first position and a tank configured to hold a secondprinting material at a second position different from the firstposition, comprises: a light emitting control unit configured to controllight emitting states of a plurality of light emitters provided on ahousing of the printing apparatus, wherein if an amount of the printingmaterial in the first tank is smaller than a predetermined amount, andan amount of the printing material in the second tank is larger than apredetermined amount, the light emitting control unit transits a stateof a first light emitter arranged at a position corresponding to thefirst tank from a state when the amount of the printing material islarger than the predetermined amount to a state when the amount of theprinting material is smaller than the predetermined amount, andmaintains a state of a second light emitter arranged at a positioncorresponding to the second tank in a state when the amount of theprinting material is larger than the predetermined amount.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a controlmethod of a printing apparatus including at least a tank configured tohold a first printing material at a first position and a tank configuredto hold a second printing material at a second position different fromthe first position, comprises: controlling light emitting states of aplurality of light emitters provided on a housing of the printingapparatus, wherein if an amount of the printing material in the firsttank is smaller than a predetermined amount, and an amount of theprinting material in the second tank is larger than a predeterminedamount, in the controlling the light emitting states, a state of a firstlight emitter arranged at a position corresponding to the first tank istransited from a state when the amount of the printing material islarger than the predetermined amount to a state when the amount of theprinting material is smaller than the predetermined amount, and a stateof a second light emitter arranged at a position corresponding to thesecond tank in a state when the amount of the printing material islarger than the predetermined amount is maintained.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments (with reference to theattached drawings).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view for explaining the schematic arrangement of a printeraccording to the first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware arrangementof the printer shown in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of processing of light emittingcontrol of the printer according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a view showing the schematic arrangement of an ink cartridgeaccording to the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of processing of light emittingcontrol of a printer according to the second embodiment;

FIGS. 6A to 6D are views for explaining light emitting modes of lightemitters; and

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the software arrangementof the printer shown in FIG. 1 .

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

A requirement for improving convenience when confirming a state of aprinting apparatus by a user is further increasing. To meet thisrequirement, a technique of allowing a user to recognize a state of aprinting apparatus more easily than the conventional technique isdemanded.

Embodiments of the present invention have been made in consideration ofthe above problem, and provide a technique of allowing a user torecognize a state of a printing apparatus more easily.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference tothe accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the followingembodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims.A plurality of features are described in the embodiments. Not all theplurality of features are necessarily essential to the presentinvention, and the plurality of features may arbitrarily be combined. Inaddition, the same reference numerals denote the same or similar partsin the accompanying drawings, and a repetitive description will beomitted.

In this specification, the term “printing” is not limited to theformation of significant information such as characters and graphics.This also broadly includes the formation of images, figures, patterns,and the like on a print medium, or the processing of the medium,regardless of whether they are significant or insignificant and whetherthey are visualized so as to be visually perceivable by humans.

In addition, the term “print medium” not only includes a paper sheetused in common printing apparatuses, but also broadly includesconveyable media, such as cloth, plastic film, metal plates, glass,ceramics, wood, leather, and the like.

Furthermore, the term “ink” (to also be referred to as a “liquid”hereinafter) should be extensively interpreted in a similar manner tothe definition of “printing (print)” described above. Ink includes aliquid which, when applied onto a print medium, can form images,figures, patterns, and the like, can process the print medium, or canprocess ink (for example, solidify or insolubilize a coloring materialcontained in ink applied to the print medium).

First Embodiment

<Schematic Arrangement of Printer>

FIG. 1 is a view for explaining the schematic arrangement of a printer100 (inkjet printing apparatus) according to the first embodiment. Theprinter 100 includes a housing 110, and a mechanism portion 120including a carriage HC is stored in the housing 110. Note that theprinting method of the printer may be an electrophotographic method.

The mechanism portion 120 includes a driving motor 131, driving forcetransmission gears 132 and 133, a lead screw 134, the carriage HC, aguide rail 136, and a platen 137.

The driving motor 131 is a motor configured to drive the carriage HC andcapable of rotating in the forward and reverse directions. When thedriving motor 131 rotates, the rotation is transmitted to the lead screw134 via the driving force transmission gears 132 and 133. When the leadscrew 134 rotates, the carriage HC engaging with a helical groove 135moves along with the rotation. When moving along with the rotation ofthe lead screw 134, the carriage HC reciprocally moves in the directionsof arrows a and b while being supported by the guide rail 136. Anintegrated ink cartridge 400 (to be referred to as a cartridge 400hereinafter) including a printhead 205 (see FIG. 2 ) and an ink tank 401(see FIG. 4 ) is mounted on the carriage HC. Note that the ink cartridge400 need only be an exchangeable component, and the printhead 205 andthe ink tank need not be integrated.

Photocouplers 139 and 140 are home position detectors configured toconfirm the existence of a lever 141 of the carriage HC in this rangeand switch the rotation direction of a motor 138. When the rotation of aconveyance motor (not shown) of printing paper P is transmitted to theplaten 137 via a transmission gear (not shown), the printing paper P isconveyed in a direction almost orthogonal to the moving direction of thecarriage HC by the rotation of the platen 137.

A light emitting unit configured to display the state of the printer 100is provided on the front surface portion of the housing 110. In thisembodiment, a light emitting unit 150 includes a plurality of lightemitters 1501 to 1505 arranged in one line in the horizontal directionso as to be almost parallel to the moving direction of the printhead205. For example, the light emitters 1501 to 1505 each include alight-emitting diode (LED). In this embodiment, each of the lightemitters 1501 to 1505 includes LED chips of red (R), green (G), and blue(B), and emits light of an arbitrary color by adjusting the lightamounts of the LEDs. However, a light emitter formed by an LED of asingle color or another light source can also be employed.

Note that the number, arrangement, shape, and the like of the lightemitters that form the light emitting unit 150 can appropriately bedesigned. For example, less than five or six or more light emitters maybe provided. For example, the printer 100 may include light emitters innumber equal to or more than the number of ink tanks attached to theprinter. The light emitters may be arranged on the entire front surfaceof the housing 110 in the main scanning direction. Furthermore, eachlight emitter may have a shape long in the vertical direction.

<Hardware Arrangement>

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware arrangementof the printer 100 according to this embodiment. A CPU 201comprehensively controls the printer 100. A ROM 202 stores a controlprogram of the CPU 201, font data for font processing, and the like. ARAM 203 temporarily stores various kinds of data. For example, the CPU201 loads a program stored in the ROM 202 into the RAM 203 and executesit, thereby executing operation control and data processing of theprinter 100.

Each of the light emitters 1501 to 1505 includes LED chips of red (R),green (G), and blue (B). When each of the LED chips of red (R), green(G), and blue (B) emits light in a light amount according to a controlsignal transmitted from the CPU 201, the light emitters 1501 to 1505emit light in various colors.

The printhead 205 discharges ink (printing material) to the sheet P as aprinting medium in accordance with a control signal transmitted from theCPU 201. An LF driving unit 206 includes, for example, a sheet feedmotor driver and a sheet feed motor (conveyance motor), and conveys theprinting medium such as the sheet P in accordance with a control signaltransmitted from the CPU 201. A carriage driving unit 207 includes, forexample, a carriage motor driver, a carriage motor (driving motor 131),and a carriage position detection circuit, and moves the carriage HC inaccordance with a control signal transmitted from the CPU 201. Thecarriage position detection circuit is configured to be able to detectthe position of the carriage HC in the main scanning direction based onan output signal from, for example, a linear encoder. An external I/F208 is connected to a PC or the like to receive print data and the likeand transmit a status signal and the like. An ink remaining amountdetecting unit 412 detects the remaining amount of ink 411 in the inktank 401 (see FIG. 4 ).

<Software Arrangement>

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the software arrangementof the printer 100 according to this embodiment. The CPU 201 loads aprogram stored in, for example, the ROM 202 into the RAM 203 andexecutes it, thereby functioning as each functional unit shown in FIG. 7.

A light emitting control unit 71 controls the light emitting states ofthe light emitters 1501 to 1505 disposed on the housing 110. Forexample, the light emitting control unit 71 blinks, turns on, or turnsoff the light emitters 1501 to 1505. Additionally, for example, thelight emitting control unit 71 adjusts the light amounts of the LEDs ofred (R), green (G), and blue (B) provided in each of the light emitters1501 to 1505, thereby controlling the emission light colors of the lightemitters 1501 to 1505.

A discharge control unit 72 transmits a heat pulse signal to theprinthead 205 based on image data to be printed, and controls inkdischarge by the printhead 205. A carriage driving control unit 73transmits a control signal to the carriage driving unit 207, andcontrols the movement of the carriage HC in the main scanning directionorthogonal to the conveyance direction of the sheet P. An LF drivingcontrol unit 74 transmits a control signal to the LF driving unit 206,and controls conveyance of the sheet P. An image analyzing unit 75analyzes a print image. For example, the image analyzing unit 75acquires color information of a print image and analyzes it.

Note the functional units are merely examples, and the functions offunctional units may be integrated, or the function of one functionalunit may be divided to provide a plurality of functional units. FIG. 7is a schematic view showing an arrangement related with this embodiment,and the printer 100 may include other functional units.

<Cartridge>

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the schematic arrangement of thecartridge 400. The cartridge 400 includes the ink tank 401 that storesink, and a holder 403 that includes the printhead 205 and holds the inktank 401. The ink tank 401 includes a lever 402, a locking pawl 404provided on the lever 402 to be locked on the holder 403, an ink supplypath 424, and the ink remaining amount detecting unit 412.

The ink tank 401 includes a liquid storing portion 401A that stores anabsorber 407 holding the ink 411, and an ink storing portion 401B thatstores the ink 411 in a liquid state. The liquid storing portion 401Aand the ink storing portion 401B communicate via a passage 401C providednear the bottom surface of the ink tank 401. More specifically, as theink in the liquid storing portion 401A is consumed by printing,gas-liquid exchange is performed via the passage 401C, and the ink inthe ink storing portion 401B moves to the liquid storing portion 401A.In addition, along with the gas-liquid exchange, air is taken in via anair communicating port 408 provided in the upper portion of the ink tank401. The ink tank 401 also includes, in the bottom surface of the liquidstoring portion 401A, a supply port 406 configured to supply the ink tothe printhead 205.

The ink remaining amount detecting unit 412 is provided, for example, inthe bottom surface of the ink storing portion 401B, and detects theremaining amount of the ink 411 in the ink tank 401. For example, theink remaining amount detecting unit 412 detects, by optical detection,whether the ink remaining amount is equal to or less than apredetermined amount. Note that the ink remaining amount detecting unit412 may detect the ink remaining amount by another known method. Forexample, the CPU 201 may store the number of times of ink discharge in astorage medium such as a RAM provided in the main body of the printer100 or the ink tank 401, and calculate the ink remaining amount based onthe number of times of discharge.

In this embodiment, the ink remaining amount detecting unit 412 detectsthe ink remaining amount at a predetermined timing. For example, if theink 411 in the ink tank 401 is consumed by ink discharge from theprinthead 205, the ink remaining amount detecting unit 412 detects theink remaining amount for each page or job.

<Processing Procedure of Light Emitting Control>

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the procedure of judgment/processing ofthe CPU 201 when causing the light emitters 1501 to 1505 disposed on thesurface of the housing 110 to emit light in the printer 100 according tothe first embodiment. For example, the CPU 201 loads a program stored inthe ROM 202 into the RAM 203 and executes it to function as the lightemitting control unit 71 shown in FIG. 7 , thereby implementing thisflowchart. This flowchart starts when, for example, the user turns onthe power, and a print job is executed. Note that the print job istransmitted from, for example, a personal computer or a portableterminal that is an external apparatus. The print job includes, forexample, print data and print setting information.

In step S301, the light emitting control unit 71 confirms, based on thedetection result of the ink remaining amount detecting unit 412, whetherthe ink remaining amount in the ink tank of the cartridge 400 is equalto or more than a predetermined amount. If the ink remaining amount isequal to or more than the predetermined amount (OK in step S301), thelight emitting control unit 71 advances to step S302. If the inkremaining amount is equal to or less than the predetermined amount (NGin step S301), the light emitting control unit 71 advances to step S308.

In step S302, the light emitting control unit 71 determines whetherprinting based on the print job is completed. Upon determining thatprinting is completed (YES in step S302), the light emitting controlunit 71 advances to step S303 to cause the light emitters 1501 to 1505to emit, for example, white light simultaneously, and advances to stepS311. On the other hand, upon determining that printing based on theprint job is not completed (NO in step S302), the light emitting controlunit 71 advances to step S304.

In step S304, the light emitting control unit 71 confirms whether anerror such as a paper jam has occurred. Upon confirming that an errorhas occurred (NG in step S304), the light emitting control unit 71advances to step S305 to cause only the light emitter 1505 disposed atthe rightmost position to emit light in a color (for example, red)different from the simultaneous light emission in step S303. On theother hand, upon confirming that an error has not occurred (OK in stepS304), the light emitting control unit 71 advances to step S306.

In step S306, the light emitting control unit 71 determines whetherprinting is progressing. Upon determining that printing is progressing(YES in step S306), the light emitting control unit 71 advances to stepS307 to cause the light emitters 1501 to 1505 to sequentiallyrepetitively emit light in accordance with the sequence in thearrangement. That is, the light emitting control unit 71 continuouslychanges the light emitting states of the light emitters 1501 to 1505.For example, if the printing operation is being performed with thecartridge 400 arranged on the side of the light emitter 1501, the lightemitting control unit 71 causes the light emitter 1501 to emit light.Next, if the cartridge 400 moves to the direction a to perform theprinting operation, the light emitting control unit 71 causes the lightemitter 1502 to emit light. In this way, the light emitting control unit71 causes the light emitter corresponding to the position of thecartridge 400 to emit light. On the other hand, upon determining thatprinting is not progressing (NO in step S306), the light emittingcontrol unit 71 directly returns to step S302.

If the process advances from step S301 to step S308, the light emittingcontrol unit 71 causes a light emitter (one of the light emitters 1501to 1505) corresponding to the position of the cartridge 400 whose inkremaining amount is equal to or less than the predetermined amount toemit light, and then advances to step S309. The light emission color atthat time may be, for example, one specific color such as white, or maybe a color approximate to the color of ink whose ink remaining amount isdetermined to be equal to or less than the predetermined amount. When alight emitter is caused to emit light in a color approximate to an inkcolor, the user can be notified which ink has run out from a remoteposition by the light emission color as well.

In step S309, the light emitting control unit 71 determines whetherprinting is completed. Upon determining that printing is completed (YESin step S309), the light emitting control unit 71 advances to step S310to cause the light emitters 1501 to 1505 to emit light simultaneously,and advances to step S311. On the other hand, upon determining thatprinting is not completed (NO in step S309), the light emitting controlunit 71 directly returns to step S301.

In step S311, the light emitting control unit 71 determines whether apredetermined end condition that, for example, the user turns off thepower is satisfied. Upon determining that the end condition is satisfied(YES in step S311), the light emitting control unit 71 advances to stepS312 to end the procedure. On the other hand, upon determining that theend condition is not satisfied (NO in step S311), the light emittingcontrol unit 71 repeats the process of step S311 until it determinesthat the end condition is satisfied. That is, light emission of thelight emitters 1501 to 1505 is continued until the end condition issatisfied.

Note that the end condition can appropriately be set. For example, itmay be determined that the end condition is satisfied when apredetermined time has elapsed from the end of printing even if thepower is not turned off. Alternatively, for example, a sensor capable ofdetecting the presence/absence of the sheet P may be provided in thedischarge portion of the sheet P in the printer 100, and if extractionof the sheet P by the user is detected, it may be determined that theend condition is satisfied. As the sensor, a known structure can beemployed. For example, an optical sensor or a switch that mechanicallyoperates when contacting the sheet P can be used.

Note that light emitting control based on the ink remaining amountconfirmation in step S301 may be executed before the start of printingbased on the print job or after completion of printing based on theprint job. For example, if printing based on the print job is completed,the light emitting control unit 71 causes the light emitters 1501 to1505 to emit, for example, white light simultaneously and turns themoff. Upon determining that the ink remaining amount is equal to or lessthan the predetermined amount, the light emitting control unit 71 causesonly a light emitter (one of the light emitters 1501 to 1505) at aposition corresponding to the position of the cartridge 400 whose inkremaining amount is equal to or less than the predetermined amount toemit light (or blink). In this case, light emitters at positions that donot correspond to the position of the cartridge 400 whose ink remainingamount is equal to or less than the predetermined amount maintain theoff state.

As described above, in the printer 100 according to this embodiment,during printing, the light emitters 1501 to 1505 sequentiallyrepetitively emit light in accordance with the sequence in thearrangement. At the end of printing, the light emitters 1501 to 1505simultaneously emit light. This allows the user to easily recognize thestate of the printer 100. In particular, since the light emitters 1501to 1505 simultaneously emit light after printing, the user can readilydiscriminate between a power off state and a state in which printing isnormally ended. In addition, if the ink amount is equal to or less thanthe predetermined amount, light emitting control for a case in which theink amount is equal to or less than the predetermined amount isperformed. Hence, the user can easily recognize the necessity ofcartridge exchange. Hence, the user can easily recognize the state ofthe printer 100 without approaching the printer 100. Note that not thelight emitting control unit 71 but another functional unit shown in FIG.7 may perform part of the processing shown in FIG. 3 .

<Light Emitting Modes of Light Emitters>

<During Printing and at End of Printing>

FIGS. 6A to 6D are views showing an example of the front surface of theprinter 100 and views for explaining detailed light emitting modes ofthe light emitters 1501 to 1505. The printer 100 includes, on the frontsurface, the light emitters 1501 to 1505 and a liquid crystal panel 601.For example, during execution of printing, the cartridge 400 is moved bythe carriage HC in the main scanning direction, and the light emitters1501 to 1505 sequentially emit light in accordance with the movement ofthe cartridge 400 (step S307 in FIG. 3 and FIGS. 6A and 6B). Whenprinting is completed, all the light emitters 1501 to 1505 are turned on(step S303 or S310 in FIG. 3 and FIG. 6C). Hence, the user can readilydiscriminate between a printing state, a normal end state of printing,and a power off state. During printing and at the end of printing, printsetting contents (color/monochrome, paper size,single-sided/double-sided, and the like) are displayed on the liquidcrystal panel 601 (FIGS. 6A to 6C).

In this embodiment, the movement of the cartridge 400 and light emissionof the light emitters 1501 to 1505 are associated in the following way.That is, the light emitting control unit 71 causes a light emittercorresponding to the scanning position of the carriage HC detected bythe carriage position detection circuit to emit light. In a case inwhich the number of light emitters is five as in this embodiment, thelight emitting control unit 71 decides the light emitter to emit lightbased on which one of five ranges obtained by equally dividing themoving range of the carriage HC in the main scanning direction includesthe center of the carriage HC. For example, if the center of thecarriage HC is located in the range on the leftmost side when theprinter 100 is viewed from the front side, the light emitting controlunit 71 causes the light emitter 1501 to emit light. Similarly, if thecenter of the carriage HC is located in the Nth range from the left, thelight emitting control unit 71 causes the light emitter 150N (N is 1 to5) to emit light.

By the light emitting mode, the user can recognize that the printhead205 is being scanned during printing. In particular, if the lightemitters 1501 to 1505 emit light in various light emitting modes inaccordance with the contents of a notification, the user cannotrecognize the contents of the notification unless he/she learns thelight emitting modes and the contents of notifications in linkage. Inthis embodiment, however, since the user can be made to recognize thatthe printhead 205 is being scanned, the user can intuitively recognizethat printing is being performed.

Note that an arrangement for causing the light emitters 1501 to 1505 tosequentially emit light can also be employed. For example, not themoving range of the carriage HC but the range of the sheet P in the mainscanning direction may equally be divided by the number of lightemitters, and a light emitter corresponding to the scanning position ofthe carriage HC may emit light. Note that the light emitting controlunit 71 need not decide the light emitter to emit light based on whichone of five ranges obtained by equally dividing the moving range of thecarriage HC in the main scanning direction includes the center of thecarriage HC. In this case, the light emitting control unit 71 causes thelight emitters 150N (N is 1 to 5) to sequentially emit light at apredetermined period irrespectively of the position of the carriage HC.

<At Time of Error Occurrence>

If an error has occurred during printing, the light emitting unit 150emits light in a mode different from that during printing or at thenormal end of printing to notify the user of the occurrence of theerror. In this embodiment, at the time of error occurrence, the lightemitter 1505 emits light in a color different from that during printing(FIG. 6D). For example, the light emitters 1501 to 1505 may emit whitelight during printing or at the normal end of printing, and the lightemitter 1505 may emit red light at the time of error occurrence. Thatis, the light emitting control unit 71 transits the state of at leastone of the light emitters 1501 to 1505 from a state when no error hasoccurred to a state when an error has occurred.

If an error such as a paper jam has occurred, the user should benotified such that the state can be clearly discriminated from both thestate of normal end of printing and the power off state. In thisembodiment, if an error has occurred, the light emitting mode of thelight emitters is changed, thereby causing the user to recognize thestate such that the state can be discriminated from the state duringprinting and the state of normal end of printing.

Additionally, at the time of error occurrence, error contents aredisplayed on the liquid crystal panel 601 (FIG. 6D). This allows theuser to recognize what kind of error has occurred. Note that if an errorhas occurred, for example, a QR Code® corresponding to the error thathas occurred may be displayed. In this case, when the user captures theQR Code® using a smartphone or the like, a web page corresponding to theerror that has occurred may be displayed on the screen of thesmartphone.

Note that the light emitting mode at the time of error occurrence ismerely an example, and another arrangement can also be employed. Forexample, if the light emitters 1501 to 1505 simultaneously emit light atthe end of printing, the light emitters 1501 to 1505 may simultaneouslyblink at the time of error occurrence. Additionally, for example, thelight emission color or the light emitter to emit light may be changedin accordance with the contents of an error. For example, if an errorthat the user can recover, such as a paper jam, paper outage, or inkoutage, has occurred, the light emitting control unit 71 turns on onlythe light emitter 1505 to emit red light. On the other hand, if an errorsuch as a fault in the printer 100 has occurred, the light emittingcontrol unit 71 causes the light emitters 1501 and 1505 to alternatelyemit light. This allows the user to quickly recognize what kind of errorhas occurred. Furthermore, for example, the light emitters 1501 to 1505sequentially emit light during printing, but the light emitters 1501 to1505 may emit light at random at the time of error occurrence. If thelight emitters irregularly emit light, the user can intuitivelyrecognize that an abnormality has occurred in the printer 100.

Additionally, if an error has occurred, but a printing operation can becontinued, and the printing operation is ended, the printer 100 needs tosimultaneously notify the user of the occurrence of the error and theend of printing. In this case, the light emitting control unit 71 maycause, for example, only the light emitter 1505 on the rightmost side toemit red light, and may cause the remaining light emitters 1501 to 1504to emit white light. Additionally, for example, simultaneous emission ofwhite light representing the end of printing and emission of red lightonly by the light emitter 1505 on the rightmost side may alternately berepeated for each predetermined time. With this arrangement, the usercan simultaneously recognize the occurrence of the error and the end ofprinting. Note that some errors of the printer 100 occur when printingis not being performed. Hence, steps S304 and S305 may be executed whenprinting is not being performed. The errors that occur when printing isnot being performed include, for example, disconnection of wirelessconnection between the printer and an access point. Another example isthe absence of paper in a paper feed cassette.

<At Time of Decrease in Ink Remaining Amount>

In this embodiment, at the time of a decrease in the ink remainingamount as well, the light emitting unit 150 emits light in a modedifferent from that during printing or at the normal end of printing tonotify the user of the occurrence. In this embodiment, the number oflight emitters 1501 to 1505 corresponds to the number of attachedcartridges 400. That is, five cartridges 400 are arranged in the mainscanning direction and mounted on the carriage HC. Based on thearrangement of the light emitters 1501 to 1505 and the five cartridges400, each of the light emitters 1501 to 1505 is associated with one ofthe five cartridges 400.

If the ink remaining amount detecting unit 412 detects that the inkremaining amount in one of the cartridges 400 is equal to or less than apredetermined amount, the light emitter arranged at a positioncorresponding to the position where the cartridge 400 whose inkremaining amount is equal to or less than the predetermined amount isattached emits light (step S308 in FIG. 3 ). For example, assume thatthe amount of ink in the cartridge 400 arranged on the rightmost side inthe main scanning direction viewed from the front side of the printer100 is equal to or less than a predetermined amount. In this case, thelight emitting control unit 71 transits the state of the light emitter1505 arranged on the rightmost side from a state when the ink amount islarger than the predetermined amount to a state when the ink amount isequal to or less than the predetermined amount. For example, the lightemitting control unit 71 may transit the state of the light emitter 1505from an off state to a light emitting state, or may transit the statefrom an on state to a blinking state. On the other hand, if the amountsof inks in the remaining cartridges 400 are larger than thepredetermined amount, the light emitting control unit 71 maintains thestate when the ink amount is larger than the predetermined amount as thestates of the remaining light emitters 1501 to 1504.

If light is emitted in this way, the user at a remote position can becaused to recognize in which the cartridge 400 the ink remaining amounthas decreased. Additionally, for example, at the time of light emission,the light emitters 1501 to 1505 may emit light in a color of the samesystem as the color of the ink in the cartridge 400 in which the inkremaining amount has decreased. This allows the user to recognize, froma remote position, which color the ink of the decreased remaining amounthas. Furthermore, for example, if printing is completed in a state inwhich the ink remaining amount in the cartridge 400 has decreased, allthe light emitters 1501 to 1505 emit light. However, only the lightemitter corresponding to the cartridge 400 in which the ink remainingamount has decreased may emit light in a different color. This allowsthe user to recognize, from a remote position, that printing has endedand that the ink remaining amount has decreased.

The light emitters may emit light by another method. For example, if theink remaining amount detecting unit 412 detects that the ink remainingamount in one of the cartridges 400 is equal to or less than apredetermined amount, the light emitting control unit 71 causes thelight emitter arranged at a position corresponding to the position wherethe cartridge 400 whose ink remaining amount is equal to or less thanthe predetermined amount is attached to blink. Note that in this case,the light emitting control unit 71 turns on light emitters arranged atpositions corresponding to the positions where the cartridges 400 inwhich the ink remaining amounts are not equal to or less than thepredetermined amount are attached. Then, the user opens the cover of theprinter 100 to exchange the cartridge. Note that the cover isopened/closed by the user at the time of cartridge exchange. Here, upondetecting that the cartridge is detached by the user, the light emittingcontrol unit 71 turns off the light emitter corresponding to theposition of the detached cartridge. Upon detecting that a new cartridgeis attached by the user, the light emitting control unit 71 turns on thelight emitter corresponding to the position where the cartridge isattached. Note that when the cover of the printer 100 is opened, thelight emitting control unit 71 may perform light emitting control toindicate that a preparation for cartridge exchange is being made. Lightemitting control at the time of decrease in the ink remaining amount maybe executed when the cover of the printer 100 is opened.

As described above, in the printer 100 according to the firstembodiment, since the light emitters 1501 to 1505 emit light in adifferent mode according to a situation, the user can more easilyrecognize the state of the printing apparatus. In particular, theprinter 100 can cause a user who is not necessarily present near theprinter to recognize the state of the printer. For example, even a userwho inputs a printing instruction using a smartphone or the like and isnot near the printer 100 can recognize, during printing, that theprinthead 205 is being scanned, and can also recognize whether an errorsuch as a paper jam has occurred, or whether ink has run out. If aplurality of printers are connected to a network, the user can recognizewhich printer is executing printing according to the printinginstruction of the user.

Second Embodiment

The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that alight emitter emits light in a color according to the color informationof a print image. A description of the same arrangement as in the firstembodiment will be omitted, and points different from the firstembodiment will mainly be described.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing light emitting control during printing ina printer 100 according to the second embodiment. For example, a CPU 201loads a program stored in a ROM 202 into a RAM 203 and executes it tofunction as each functional unit shown in FIG. 7 , thereby implementingthis flowchart. This flowchart starts when, for example, a job isexecuted.

In step S501, an image analyzing unit 75 reads out data DI of one lineof a print image. In step S502, the image analyzing unit 75 analyzes thereadout data DI, and a light emitting control unit 71 decides the lightemission color of each of the light emitters 1501 to 1505 based on theanalysis result of the image analyzing unit 75. For example, for thelight emitter 1501 located on the leftmost side when viewed from thefront side of the printer 100, the analyzed data of one line is dividedinto five parts, and a light emission color according to the color ofthe region on the leftmost side is assigned. That is, each of the lightemitters 1501 to 1505 emits light in a color according to thecorresponding region.

Note that the color assigning method can appropriately be designed. Asan example, the image analyzing unit 75 may acquire the RGB values ofpixels in a region as color information from the readout data of theprint image, and assign the average value as the light emission color.Additionally, for example, a plurality of light emission colors may beset in advance, and the image analyzing unit 75 may determine to whichlight emission color the color of each pixel in the region is close. Theimage analyzing unit 75 may assign a light emission color mostdetermined to be close to the color of each pixel as the light emissioncolor of the light emitter.

In step S503, a carriage driving control unit 73 detects, in positionsobtained by dividing the paper width by the number of light emitters (inthis embodiment, the paper width is divided into five parts), to whichposition the position of a printhead 205 corresponds. In step S504, thelight emitting control unit 71 causes one of the light emitters 1501 to1505 corresponding to the detected position to emit light in the lightemission color assigned in step S502. That is, if it is detected in stepS503 that the printhead 205 is located at the Nth position, the lightemitting control unit causes the Nth light emitter 150N (N is 1 to 5) toemit light.

In step S505, the image analyzing unit 75 determines whether it is dataend (readout of all lines of the print image data is completed). Upondetermining that it is not data end (NO in step S505), the processreturns to step S501. In the process returned to step S501, if theprocessing of the data of one line has been completed, the imageanalyzing unit 75 reads out the data of the next line, and executes theprocessing from step S502. On the other hand, upon determining in stepS505 that it is data end (YES in step S505), the CPU 201 ends theprocedure.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the light emission colorsof the light emitters are controlled. This allows the user to recognize,from a remote position, which color image is being printed whilerecognizing, during printing, that the printhead 205 is being scanned.Additionally, for example, in a case in which a plurality of users sharea printer, the user can recognize whether a printed product underprinting is generated by a printing instruction of his/her own becausethe user can recognize, from a remote position, which color image isbeing printed.

Note that in the second embodiment, the light emission color is decidedby analyzing the data of the print image on a line basis. However, thetone of entire image data may be analyzed, and the light emitters 1501to 1505 may emit light in a color of the same system as the tone. Inthis case as well, the user can recognize, from a remote position, whichcolor printed product is being printed. In addition, for example, thelight emission colors of the light emitters may be decided in accordancewith the contents of the print image including a print image type suchas a photo, a text, or the like in addition to the tone of the printimage.

OTHER EMBODIMENTS

In the above-described embodiments, light emitting control in a printingoperation based on a print job has been described. However, the lightemitting control unit 71 may perform light emitting control of the lightemitters in a scan operation based on a scan job.

If the printer is powered on, the light emitting control unit 71 mayperform light emitting control indicating power ON. If the printer ispowered off, the light emitting control unit 71 may perform lightemitting control indicating power OFF and then turn off the lightemitters 1501 to 1504.

In the above-described embodiments, light emitters used for printingcontrol are also used as light emitters used at the time of an error.However, another form is also possible. For example, a light emitter forerror may be provided on the right side of the light emitter 1505 whenthe printer 100 is viewed from the front side. If an error has occurred,the light emitting control unit 71 may transit the state of the lightemitter for error from a state when an error has not occurred to a statewhen an error has occurred.

In the above-described embodiments, the printer 100 whose printheadreciprocally moves in the main scanning direction has been described asan example. However, the processing according to the above-describedembodiments may be executed in a printer of another type. For example,the processing according to the above-described embodiments may beapplied to a printer that performs printing using a printhead having asize equal to or more than a printable paper width.

In the above-described embodiments, the description has been made usingthe printer 100 to which a cartridge can be attached. However, theprocessing according to the above-described embodiments may be appliedto the printer 100 in which a fixed ink tank is refilled with ink.

Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by acomputer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computerexecutable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on astorage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/orthat includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or moreof the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by thecomputer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out andexecuting the computer executable instructions from the storage mediumto perform the functions of one or more of the above-describedembodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). Thecomputer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processingunit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network ofseparate computers or separate processors to read out and execute thecomputer executable instructions. The computer executable instructionsmay be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or thestorage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or moreof a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM),a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as acompact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™),a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2019-068566, filed Mar. 29, 2019, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. A printing apparatus performing printing with aprinting material stored in a storing portion, comprising: a controlunit configured to control a mode of a light emitting unit that includesa light emitter and is provided on a housing of the printing apparatus;and a displaying unit configured to display information relating to theprinting apparatus, the displaying unit being provided on the housing ofthe printing apparatus, wherein if a state relating to a remainingamount of the printing material stored in the storing portion transitsfrom a first state to a second state, the control unit transits the modeof the light emitting unit from a first mode corresponding to the firststate to a second mode corresponding to the second state, the displayingunit displays information relating to a color of the printing materialstored in the storing portion whose state relating to the remainingamount of the printing material transits to the second state, thecontrol unit causes the mode of the light emitting unit to transit fromthe second mode to a mode different from the second mode, if apredetermined user operation is performed on the printing apparatus whenthe state relating to the remaining amount of the printing material isthe second state, and the predetermined user operation is related tocausing the state relating to the remaining amount of the printingmaterial to transit from the second state to the first state, and thepredetermined user operation is to be performed before the staterelating to the remaining amount of the printing material transits fromthe second state to the first state.
 2. The printing apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the first state is a state in which an amount of theprinting material stored in the storing portion is greater than apredetermined amount, and the second state is a state in which an amountof the printing material stored in the storing portion is less than thepredetermined amount.
 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,wherein if the remaining amount of the printing material stored in thestoring portion transits to the second state, the control unit transitsthe light emitting state of the light emitting unit to an on state or ablinking state.
 4. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe light emitting unit includes plural light emitters, and if theremaining amount of the printing material stored in the storing portiontransits to the second state, the control unit turns on or blinks only alight emitter at a position corresponding to a position of the printingmaterial whose remaining amount has transited to the second state fromamong the plural light emitters included in the light emitting unit. 5.The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first state isa state in which the remaining amount of the printing material stored inthe storing portion is greater than a predetermined amount, and thesecond state is a state in which the printing material stored in thestoring portion has run out.
 6. The printing apparatus according toclaim 5, wherein the light emitting unit includes plural light emitters,and if the remaining amount of the printing material stored in thestoring portion transits to the second state, the control unit causesonly a light emitter disposed at the rightmost position from among theplural light emitters included in the light emitting unit to emit lightin a color different from a color that the light emitter emits when theremaining amount of the printing material is greater than thepredetermined amount.
 7. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the light emitting unit includes a plurality of light emitters.8. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lightemitting unit includes less than five light emitters.
 9. The printingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the displaying unit displays atleast characters.
 10. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,wherein if an error occurs in the printing apparatus, a QR Code®corresponding to the error is displayed on the displaying unit, and theerror is at least one of a paper jam, a paper outage, an ink outage, anda fault of the printing apparatus.
 11. The printing apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the printing material is an ink.
 12. The printingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storing portion is acartridge.
 13. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theprinting material is stored in the storing portion after the storingportion has been filled with the printing material.
 14. The printingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in a case in which thepredetermined user operation is performed, the control unit causes themode of the light emitting unit to transit to the mode different fromthe second mode, in which the light emitter is in an off state.
 15. Theprinting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mode different fromthe second mode is the first mode.
 16. The printing apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the predetermined user operation includes anoperation of opening a cover of the printing apparatus.
 17. The printingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined user operationincludes an operation of detaching a cartridge.
 18. The printingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the displaying unit is a displaypanel.
 19. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thedisplaying unit is a liquid crystal panel.
 20. The printing apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the light emitting unit and the displayingunit are provided on a front surface of the housing of the printingapparatus.
 21. The printing apparatus according to claim 20, wherein thefront surface is a surface on which a discharge portion for discharginga print medium is provided.